Closing the Loop. (Applying the Circular Economy to the coatings industry)

The 2015 Paris Agreement acknowledged the urgency of reducing greenhouse gas emissions (GHGs) to limit global temperature rises. State actors and coatings industry bodies have been promoting circular economy principles as a means of minimising their environmental impact. This article looks at how the UK coatings industry is trying to close the downstream loop of the circular economy, and if they are successfully encouraging end-users to recycle and use recycled products.

The Circular Economy

A Circular Economy aims to establish socially and environmentally motivated cyclical processes that are waste-free by allowing for material reuse. Sector bodies including the World Coating’s Council, CEPE, TFS Initiative, and British Coatings Federation are developing action plans which urge coatings manufacturers to consider both the design of products and end-of-life disposal.

It’s thought that approximately 10% of the environmental footprint occurs during formulation, 50% upstream and 40% downstream [T. Mash: 2015]. The habits and processes of supply side (upstream), and contractors and end-users (downstream), must be challenged in order to develop a successful circular economy.

Reduction and Reuse

Currently, only 2% of waste paint is recycled or remanufactured, while the remainder is sent for incineration. Additionally, an estimated 2 million caulk tubes are disposed of weekly, with containers and sundries taking 20-500 years to decompose in landfill.

It’s thought that enough paint to fill 20 Olympic-sized swimming pools goes unused every year and so minimising wasted resources requires a mindful approach from end users.

Purchasing only the necessary amount of paint is a fundamental first step and manufacturers like Akzo Nobel, Crown, and PPG offer online calculators to facilitate accurate ordering. Dulux Decorators Centres and Screwfix are among suppliers now selling caulk in foil ‘sausages’ instead of plastic tubes.

Buying in larger volume containers when appropriate and dispensing only what is needed optimises resource consumption. Reusing old salvageable paint or repurposing leftover paint as a primer can also minimise wastage. As can washing rather than disposing of sundries.

With so many methods available for tradespeople, it would be encouraging to see education and incentivisation prioritised by influential players.

Recycling & Remanufacturing

The British Coatings Federation, via the PaintCare initiative, aims to eliminate landfill paint waste by 2024, and recycle, remanufacture, or reuse 75% of leftover paint. They reported a general lack of awareness that Household Waste Recycling Centres (HWRCs) accept paint for recycling, exacerbated by the fact that only 1 in 3 HWRCs accept liquid hazardous waste. Their Recycling Locator assists end users in finding recycling points.

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Remanufacturing of previously manufactured product uses less money, energy and resource than the extraction and processing of ‘virgin’ materials. Remanufacture also reduces the GHG emissions released through the incineration or bio-degradation of waste.

As the remanufacturing industry ramps-up, job creation and charity for some of society’s most vulnerable appears to be a beneficial side-effect.

Socially motivated companies like Paint 360 are re-engineering a 50% recycled, 50% virgin product, to create quality paint and mould treatment products. Their containers are made from recycled plastic and they recycle containers received, saving 0.5kg of embedded carbon per container.

PPGs Paint Exchange scheme allows tradespeople and contractors to channel unused paint through Paint 360. Customers can return up to 6 cans of any brand to a Johnstone’s decorating centre. Larger contractors can request a site-based IBC (for a fee), and Paint360 provide a breakdown of the CO2 savings made. There is a drive by PPG to push Paint 360 products as part of this partnership.

The Dulux sponsored Community RePaint scheme “collect leftover paint and redistribute it to benefit individuals, families, communities and charities”. In 2015 they launched a paint remanufacture centre creating paints under the ReColour brand.

Akzo Nobel recently launched Dulux Trade Evolve Matt produced from 35% recycled paint content and in 2021 reported “circular use for around 59% of our obsolete materials”.

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Crown partner with a social enterprise run recycling centre, NIMTECH and reportedly were the first UK paint manufacturer to launch 100% recycled plastic paint containers in 2018.

They offer recycling to end-users and national contractors under two schemes, Can Back (containers) and Kick Out The Can (paint). Both accept any brand, purchased from anywhere, minimising segregation time and increasing accessibility.

In 2022 Crown set themselves a target to recycle 1M empty cans, and achieved it. Their paint recycling figures are vastly more impressive than the industry average, with 78% remanufactured or donated to community organisations.

Through partnering with Crown, my employer Bagnalls, increased recycling tonnage by 83.3% 2021-2022, 80% of that through CDCs. This indicates that when a simplified, affordable, national access scheme is available, contractors can change their processes and contribute meaningfully to the circular economy.

Barriers to Adoption

There are still many hurdles to widespread adoption of circular practices: segregation and recycling is time consuming; products have premium costs attached; there are unfamiliarity barriers and limitations of colour and finish. The largest contractors with purchasing agreements in place might still pay 20-30% more for a remanufactured product, eroding competitive advantage.

In practice, there is little pull-through from customers. Even the public sector - who heavily scrutinise contractor’s environmental credentials in pre-qualification – still heavily-weight contract award to lowest price. In this competitive market contractors are disincentivised to quote for eco-products.

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Collaboration is key

Initially, it’s essential that recycling volume increases so that manufacturers and the remanufacturing industry can offer improved product quality and choice at a competitive price point.

Then, demand for these products must be pro-actively generated by influential manufacturers via their customer and contractor relationships. They have to be willing to champion these alternatives in place of more carbon intensive alternatives if they are going to create a demand and compel contractors to use them.

At the same time, tradesperson education about managing waste and recycling must be a clear, unyielding message from all stakeholders.

The industry could streamline their pockets of success into a collaborative force. The BCF, through PaintCare, could mobilise members and other influential industry bodies behind a well marketed single scheme. One which can be channelled to different sized end users through a network of options feeding into recyclers and remanufacturers. The PDA are currently undertaking a re-education initiative targeted at smaller contractors and members through Paint Green. Getting the message to every single individual is essential to success, but the more competing schemes there are, the more dispersed is the effort, and the message and objectives can lose their impact.

PaintCare report that a large proportion of tradespeople are willing to pay a small ‘Green Levy’ (max 20p/L) to facilitate recycling. As a collaborating group of organisations with a shared goal, best practice could be shared and levies distributed where needed to drive scheme growth and contribution.

As the process of recycling and using remanufactured products becomes everyday, behaviours will naturally evolve. Eventually really significant quantities of waste will be diverted from incineration and landfill, and the loop can close.